


Unceasing

by starsandstreams



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Gen, ghost!Tadashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 01:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3917965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandstreams/pseuds/starsandstreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tadashi and Hiro. Hiro and Tadashi. For fourteen tumultuous years, the two brothers had been the only constant in each other's lives. Until that one devastating day where they weren’t. Or were they still?<br/>(ghost!Tadashi)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unceasing

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first work in AO3, (I'm also writing on FF under ProfessorCactusTheThird hehe). This fanfic is slightly different from my other BH6 fics, mainly cos I'm writing Tadashi as a ghost here, instead of just being alive and/or dead, so please let me know how I did!

The usual sounds of the bustling cafe that drifted upstairs were the only interruptions to the stillness of Hiro's bedroom. It was mid-afternoon on a Tuesday and the boy genius was at SFIT, leaving his robot companion deactivated at home to charge up and re-calibrate its systems after the harrowing bomb scare they had been asked to help out with the previous night. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through a window Hiro had carelessly left open, followed by an "Ow." so soft that Baymax was only able to pick it up thanks to his enhanced sensors. The robot dutifully activated from its carrying case and looked around the room for the source of the sound of distress. "Hello Tadashi."

 

"Hey buddy, are we in the clear?"

 

Baymax scanned the house, and was satisfied that the only other life signatures he was picking up were from the cafe. The last thing either of them wanted was for Baymax to be caught talking to (what would appear to be) thin air, and mentioning Tadashi by name, no less.

 

Tadashi had found himself as a ghost almost immediately after, well, the last thing he remembered from when he was living was the searing heat of the flames around him as he ran into the burning showcase hall. He had been following his brother around ever since then, despite the younger Hamada not being able to see him- not yet anyway. His heart broke as he saw his baby brother battling depression after his death, but the slow improvements Hiro had been making ever since reactivating Baymax gave Tadashi hope (and not so infrequent heart attacks with the whole superhero team thing, but still). Speaking of Baymax, the robot was his one link to Hiro, with Tadashi conveying advice and comfort to Baymax to then pass on to Hiro when Hiro himself could not hear or see Tadashi. But today, hopefully, all that would change.

 

"Do you think he's ready for us to tell him today?"

 

"Hiro's neurotransmitter levels have been rising steadily these past few months, but it is clear he is still suffering from the effects of personal loss. I think he will be able to take the new information well." Tadashi had never planned, back when he was creating Baymax, that the robot would be used to treat Hiro's emotional and psychological scars so much more so than his physical ones, but nonetheless he was so glad and grateful that Baymax was able to be there for his little brother when he could not.

 

"I can't wait for Hiro to be able to see me. I've missed talking to him so much, and I can't imagine what he has been going through."

 

"He has been taking it very hard," Baymax confirmed Tadashi's worst fears, "but seeing as how you were watching over him even before Hiro activated me again, I am sure you know that too."

 

Tadashi sighed, leaning against the old bookshelf he and Hiro used to share. "I really hope he takes the reveal well, the last thing I need is for him to think he's going crazy." No other soul on this earth knew this, but one day about six years back, when Hiro was only 8 years old but wise beyond his years, he had broken down in front of Tadashi, all the snides the bullies at school had been passing about him being a 'freak of nature' getting into his young head.

 

_"They're right, aren't they Dashi?" he had forced through his tears, "I'm this complete weirdo, what if one day I get too smart for myself? I've read reports on schi… schiz…" Hiro struggled to pronounce the word he should not even have known about at that age, pronoucing it "sch" instead of "sk"._

Tadashi remembered his eyes widening in horror as his baby brother cracked in front of him. He remembered the frantic reassurances, the soothing lullabies. He remembered talking to the counsellor in school, and Aunt Cass. He remembered where his first idea for Baymax came from- a promise to his little brother that no matter what, where or when, he will always have someone by his side, and on his side.

 

"I cannot scan you anymore, but judging from your expression, I take it that you, too, are reliving some bad memories?" Baymax had learned to read body language over time, on the days where Hiro was too distraught to talk, or hid his true feelings behind a fake, overly exuberant facade.

 

Tadashi nodded slowly, looking up at his robot that had above and beyond its originally programmed duties to protect Hiro. "Thank you for being there for him big guy. Thank you so much."

 

Baymax just blinked and tilted his head slightly to the right, "You are welcome, but really I am just doing what I was progr-"

"B… Baymax?"

 

Both figures inside the room jumped, figuratively for Baymax of course, but the sentiment was the same. How had he not sensed Hiro's usual loud trudging up the stairs? This was not the plan. Baymax was supposed to slowly break it to Hiro, not for the younger boy to walk in on their conversation.

 

"Who are you talking to?" Hiro glanced nervously around the room, but he already knew that Aunt Cass was busy downstairs, and the gang had split up after their last class of the day. Besides, none of them would just hang out in Hiro's room without telling him- that was almost stalkerish.

 

"Hello Hiro, how was school today?" Baymax, as prompted by a still invisible Tadashi, seemed to evade his young patient's question.

 

"School was f- no. No. Don't try to turn this around Baymax, who are you talking to?"

 

"You, Hiro."

 

" _Urgh Baymax!_ " Hiro ran a hand though his hair, frustrated. Plopping down his bag on his bed, he walked up to the robot, checking for any malfunctions. "Are you okay? Is something not working properly or whatever? You're not low on battery, are you? Because you know your charging station is just there."

 

"My systems are fully functioning Hiro. Thank you for your concern."

 

The boy lay down heavily on his bed in defeat. "Then am I going crazy? Cos I swear I heard you talking to someone Baymax. I _swear_. Is something wrong with me? Am I hearing things or-"

 

"There is nothing wrong with you either, Hiro. However,"Baymax glanced quickly at what appeared to just be an innocent bookshelf. "There is something we think you should know."

 

Hiro sat up sharply. " _We_?" Hiro's mind started running wild with various possible scenarios. _Did Aunt Cass want him to stop his superhero stuff? Did the_ team _want him to stop? Did they finally get sick of babysitting a stupid fifteen year old and-_

_"_ Hiro, your pulse is rising steadily, and you're showing signs of panic. I suggest you calm down before I tell you anything. Please-"

 

And that, _that_ was when Hiro swore he was crazy. He had been hearing his brother's voice in his head, of course. Whenever he was stuck on a project ( _I'm not giving up on you, kiddo.)_ , or unsure how to proceed with catching a perp ( _Use that big brain of yours and look for a new angle, Hiro.)_ , or just… just confused _(I love you, knucklehead)._ But this, this was different. This was… _real._

He looked up at Baymax, then followed the robot's gaze toward the bookshelf. Or at least it used to lead directly to the bookshelf. But now, the clear line of sight was blocked by- no. There was no way. Hiro had studied science since he had been barely old enough to read, and he knew that there was no scientific, or any other, explanation thus known that could explain what he was seeing in front of him, clear as day. It was just plain impossible. It was the last thing he had ever expected to see. It was-

 

"Tadashi?" Hiro's voice was barely above a whisper. After all, he had to be imagining this, and he didn't want to get his hopes up just because he was hallucinating or something.

 

But the figure started moving toward him, a soft smile on his face, "Hey baby brother."

 

Hiro felt his heart pounding in his chest as he scrambled backward on his bed, unsure of the apparition in front of him. "No, you're not- I must be- how are you-"

 

"Hiro, I know it's hard to take in all at once kiddo, but it's me. Well, ghost me, technically, but still me."

 

"I- I don't…"

 

"That raptorbot we built back when you were eight was pretty cool, wasn't it? I mean, until it fell out the window of course," the… whatever it was standing in front of Hiro chuckled, and the boy looked closer at the figure of his brother. Nobody else, not even Aunt Cass, knew about their old raptorbot except for the two boys, so there was no way the figure could have told Hiro about that unless it truly _was_ him.

 

"Tadashi? It's… it's really you?"

 

"There's a lot to explain, but yes kiddo. It's really me."

 

Hiro lunged forward, wanting nothing more than to latch on to Tadashi and never let him go, but he felt himself being held back by a familiar pair of squishy white arms. "Hiro," the robot's calming voice ran close to his ear, "I think there are some things Tadashi wants to inform you about first."

 

The latter smiled gratefully at Baymax. "I told you there's a lot to explain, and it's best if we get it all out of the way first. Can you let me do that, Hiro?"

 

The teen nodded blankly, his brilliant mind still not fully wrapped around the concept that Tadashi, or at least his ghost or whatever, was standing in front of him.

 

"Okay first and most important, and pretty obvious too, I'm a ghost. I'm so sorry for leaving you kiddo, but-"

 

"Sorry? _Sorry?_ " Hiro felt the anger he had been holding down for over a year bubbling up inside him, and he finally allowed himself to let it out. "Well I got news for you bro, _sorry_ doesn't even _begin_ to cover all the things I had to go through. Do you have any idea how much it _hurt_? How many nights I spent reliving the day of the expo? How many ways I came up with to see if I could have changed what happened that night? And for _what_ , Tadashi? Even if both you and that… that _monster_ died, but he died an innocent man, I could have forgiven you. But you died for someone who didn't even give a _damn_ about you and-" Hiro's rant broke off abruptly as he collapsed into sobs in Baymax's arms. The look of pain on Tadashi's face, worse than he had ever seen before, almost made him feel guilty, but Tadashi deserved it. Deserved it for abandoning him and leaving him without any family except for Aunt Cass, for-

 

Hiro froze as he felt another pair of arms- human arms- around him. He looked up, expecting to see Tadashi, but found himself staring into thin air. "Wha-"

 

He felt the arms around his loosen their grip as Tadashi reappeared in front of him, a wry smile on his face. "There's a catch to this, which is what I wanted to tell you next. I don't know why, or how it works really, but the ghost realm has this see-no-touch, touch-no-see thing. It doesn't really make sense, but that's just how it works."

 

"I don't really…"

 

Tadashi smiled that warm smile he always did when explaining something to Hiro. "Okay, so you can see me now right?" The boy nodded slowly. "But try to touch me." Hiro reached forward hesitantly, only for his hand to go straight through the image of his brother. "You see? But now," Tadashi suddenly turned invisible, but Hiro felt his brother squeezing his arm reassuringly, before reappearing in front of him. "You get it?"

 

"Wow, that's kinda trippy," Hiro hiccuped, something between a laugh and a sob.

 

"Yeah," Tadashi's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Not the best situation, but better than nothing right?"

 

"But… why didn't you show yourself to me before? Does Aunt Cass know?"

 

Tadashi continued patiently, "There are a few more things you need to know. First, this apparition seeing thing somehow only works when the receiver is 16 years and above. I know you're not 16 yet, but this is your 16th year, so I managed to weasel in the technicality," he laughed. "Also, I can only choose one person to show myself to, so I picked you instead." He paused, waiting to gauge Hiro's reaction. The boy seemed to be taking everything in fairly okay, so Tadashi continued. "But just because you weren't able to see me didn't mean I wasn't able to see you, Hiro. I have been here the whole time, from the funeral, through the whole superhero thing, till now."

 

Hiro frowned in thought as he chewed on his lip. "Is that… is that why Baymax was always saying you're here?"

 

"Yes Hiro," said robot spoke from beside him. "Thanks to my advanced sensors, I was able to see and hear Tadashi ever since you activated me that day you found your microbot. I'm sorry for not telling you before, but Tadashi wanted me to hold on to that information until you could see him yourself."

 

"I… wow. This is crazy."

 

"I know it's a lot to take in kiddo, so take as much time as you need, okay?"

 

Hiro felt almost dizzy. _What was happening?_ Tadashi was actually here. _Tadashi._ Who died over a year ago. His older brother whom he had never thought he would see, let alone interact with, again. Granted, it was his ghost and not _Tadashi_ Tadashi, but still… "Wait but, this means I can always see you like whenever?"

 

"Mmhmm, and I'll always be haunting your little butt, so don't think you can sneak anything past me, like the whole superhero stint for instance."

 

"It's _not_ a stint. We're actually doing good with it. You're supposed to be proud of me, Mr I Want To Save The Whole World."

 

Tadashi rolled his eyes at the familiar banter than had been missed for far too long, "I am proud of you, knucklehead. I just don't want you joining me up here anytime soon, got it?"

 

"I…" Hiro leaned forward, and Tadashi changed back to invisibility to return the hug. "I really missed you Tadashi."

 

"I know kiddo, I'm _so-_ "

 

"Don't you dare say you're _"sorry"_ Tadashi. I'm still beyond pissed at you, and if only I could beat you up, I swear…" But Tadashi only acted to pull Hiro in tighter, rocking him gently the same way he used to when they were younger and Hiro was upset or scared.

 

And suddenly, despite the shock and the tears and the anger, Hiro found himself laughing. Pure, happy, carefree laughter escaped him for the first time in a long time as he realised that yes, things aren't perfectly as they used to be per se, but Tadashi was right, this _was_ better than nothing. This was the best-case scenario that could happen, actually, and whatever came ahead, he'd be able to take it on. He'd be able to take anything on, as long as Tadashi (and Baymax!) remained by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo! Hope you guys liked it :) I'm thinking of expanding this AU into a oneshot/short multi chapter series (of how Hiro and the rest go on with life, but with ghost!Tadashi by his side), do tell if you think it's worth it!
> 
> Once again, hope you guys liked this! Please do tell me what you think, constructive criticism is very much appreciated, but no flames please! (I'm pretty sensitive about that after a bad experience once :/ )
> 
> Much love! xoxo


End file.
